The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Indian Banks are eyeing Bangladesh as one of the potential place to expand their market. One of the largest banks of neighbouring India, the Allahabad Bank, recently announced that it was looking abroad for further expansion and may set up new offices in Bangladesh and Kenya, The Statesman reported.

Bank of India, one of the largest nationalised bank of the country, is doing brisk business in Bangladesh for a long.

Bangladesh is being considered as one of the most potential market for banking business in the recent days and many foreign banks and financial institutions have expressed their keen interest to start business here.

For the second quarter ended 30 September, Allahabad Bank reported a 14.16 per cent increase in net profit at Rupees 239.78 crore compared to Rs 210.03 crore for the corresponding period of last year, AC Mahajan, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, told reporters. For the six months during April-September 2007, the bank's net profit was Rs 440.18 crore as against Rs 338.28 crore in the corresponding period last year, registering a growth of 30.12 per cent.

AC Mahajan said the total deposit of the bank went up to Rs 65,896 crore as on 30th September 2007 from Rs 54,006 crore as on 30th September 2006 and Rs 59,544 crore as on 31st March 2007.

The bank's net NPA to net advances ratio was 0.75 per cent as at the end of September 2007 which was down from 1.07 per cent as at March-end 2007, but remained steady compared to 0.75 per cent as at the end of September 2006, AC Mahajan added.

During the year from September 2006 to September 2007, 114 more branches were opened throughout the country taking the total number of branches to 2,134 of which 982 (46 per cent) are rural, 397 (19 per cent) semi-urban, 449 (21 per cent) urban and 306 (14 per cent) metropolitan.